<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LarryJ:
I don't think that's an accurate characterization. The engines where on fire, the fuel streaming out of the fuel tanks was what was burning. The engines failed, not because their were on fire, because they were not getting enough fuel due to the massive leak.
Though the fire was spectacular, the crash was caused by the lack of thrust from the two fuel starved engines and the lack of sufficient airspeed to maintain flight. Concorde never accellerated to the speed necessary to successfully climb out on two engines.</font>
Having read the report on the crash, I agree completely. The point I was trying to express is that even when a fuel tank was punctured and ignited, there wasn't a mid-air explosion.